The Prince of Wales is trying to orchestrate a fashion comeback for wool to
halt dwindling demand and falling prices for the commodity.

The Prince hopes to reignite Britain’s love affair with the fabric, marketing it as a fashionable, eco-friendly and durable alternative to cheap “throwaway” garments.

A wool week, backed by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, is also planned for September, just before London Fashion Week.

The scheme aims to help sheep farmers by boosting the price of wool worldwide.

Nicholas Coleridge, the managing director of Condé Nast publications – whose titles include Vogue and Vanity Fair – has been brought in to persuade retailers, manufacturers and designers to support the campaign.

A wool week, backed by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, is also planned for September, just before London Fashion Week.

However, to succeed, the project must garner the support of Commonwealth countries, particularly New Zealand, whose wool prices have a significant impact on prices in Britain.

Wool prices in New Zealand are at their lowest level for 50 years, while the average price in Britain has dropped from 93p per kilogram in 1997 to 66p last year.

The scheme aims to create a new green label for woollen products and encourage shops to promote wool for clothing and home furnishings.

The Prince will give a speech at Wimpole Hall, Cambs, to launch the project on Tuesday, in which he will extol the virtues of the fabric and the importance of supporting British sheep farmers.

A Clarence House spokesman said: "The Prince was getting very concerned about the prices that farmers were getting for their fleeces and decided that something had to be done to help them.

"He got together all the interested parties, including people in fashion, clothes retailers, carpet manufacturers and representatives of the wool industry, and they agreed to work together to promote wool."

Mr Coleridge, who also helps the Prince’s Trust charity, told The Times: “We want to make wool something desirable, so it will affect wool prices.

“The plan is to try and overturn some myths and to talk up the beauty of wool and the eco-benefits of wool, which lasts longer than synthetic materials and is fully biodegradable. This way we hope to reawaken interest in wool.

“The secret is to make wool look sleeker. It does not always have to be used in a great big Arran sweater. I wear woollen suits, woollen jumpers at the weekend and in this weather in the office.”

He added that destroying the “myth” that woollen carpets are less fire-resistant than synthetic ones was also a key battleground.

Several designers and labels such as Burberry, Jasper Conran, Paul Smith, and tailors such as Gieves & Hawkes are already using wool.

However, success will rest in winning the backing of middle and value retail markets.

The Prince met has met figures from the British Wool Marketing Board, farmers and fashion experts at Clarence House to discuss the revival, called The Wool Project.

The move came after the Prince identified the need to boost wool prices two years ago after complaints from upland farmers and tenants of his Duchy of Cornwall estate.

He has turned to John Thorley, director of the Pastoral Alliance and former chief executive of the National Sheep Association, to plan a comeback for wool.